8,249 Shares in Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) Acquired by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blue Bird Co. (NASDAQ:BLBD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 8,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BLBD. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Blue Bird during the 1st quarter worth approximately $15,977,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Blue Bird during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,177,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in Blue Bird by 783.6% during the 3rd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 439,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,376,000 after purchasing an additional 389,459 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its position in Blue Bird by 245.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 509,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,867,000 after purchasing an additional 361,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in Blue Bird during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,685,000. Institutional investors own 93.59% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BLBD opened at $36.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $33.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.36. Blue Bird Co. has a fifty-two week low of $17.37 and a fifty-two week high of $39.01.

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $317.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $265.00 million. Blue Bird had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 223.85%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Blue Bird Co. will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on BLBD shares. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Blue Bird in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blue Bird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $26.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Blue Bird from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Blue Bird presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $34.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Phil Horlock sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $1,450,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 449,812 shares in the company, valued at $13,044,548. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Blue Bird news, President Britton Smith sold 6,228 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.49, for a total transaction of $208,575.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 87,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,922,002.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Phil Horlock sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $1,450,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 449,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,044,548. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,257,597 shares of company stock worth $139,735,973 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Blue Bird Company Profile

Blue Bird Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells school buses in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Bus and Parts. It offers Type C, Type D, and specialty buses; and alternative power options through its propane powered, gasoline powered, compressed natural gas powered, and electric powered school buses, as well as diesel engines.